Windows Vista for dummies

by Andy Rathbone

Windows Vista™

FOR

DUMmIES‰

01_754218 ffir.qxp 11/9/06 6:35 PM Page iii

01_754218 ffir.qxp 11/9/06 6:35 PM Page ii

Windows Vista™

FOR

DUMmIES‰

01_754218 ffir.qxp 11/9/06 6:35 PM Page i

01_754218 ffir.qxp 11/9/06 6:35 PM Page ii

by Andy Rathbone

Windows Vista™

FOR

DUMmIES‰

01_754218 ffir.qxp 11/9/06 6:35 PM Page iii

Windows Vista™ For Dummies®

Published by

Wiley Publishing, Inc.

111 River Street

Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774

www.wiley.com

Copyright © 2007 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published simultaneously in Canada

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or

by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permit￾ted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written

permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the

Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600.

Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Legal Department, Wiley Publishing,

Inc., 10475 Crosspoint Blvd., Indianapolis, IN 46256, (317) 572-3447, fax (317) 572-4355, or online at

http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

Trademarks: Wiley, the Wiley Publishing logo, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, A Reference for the

Rest of Us!, The Dummies Way, Dummies Daily, The Fun and Easy Way, Dummies.com, and related trade

dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United

States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. Windows Vista is a trade￾mark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the

property of their respective owners. Wiley Publishing, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor

mentioned in this book.

LIMIT OF LIABILITY/DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY: THE PUBLISHER AND THE AUTHOR MAKE NO REP￾RESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE

CONTENTS OF THIS WORK AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WITHOUT

LIMITATION WARRANTIES OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. NO WARRANTY MAY BE CREATED

OR EXTENDED BY SALES OR PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS. THE ADVICE AND STRATEGIES CONTAINED

HEREIN MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR EVERY SITUATION. THIS WORK IS SOLD WITH THE UNDERSTAND￾ING THAT THE PUBLISHER IS NOT ENGAGED IN RENDERING LEGAL, ACCOUNTING, OR OTHER PRO￾FESSIONAL SERVICES. IF PROFESSIONAL ASSISTANCE IS REQUIRED, THE SERVICES OF A COMPETENT

PROFESSIONAL PERSON SHOULD BE SOUGHT. NEITHER THE PUBLISHER NOR THE AUTHOR SHALL

BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES ARISING HEREFROM. THE FACT THAT AN ORGANIZATION OR WEBSITE IS

REFERRED TO IN THIS WORK AS A CITATION AND/OR A POTENTIAL SOURCE OF FURTHER INFORMA￾TION DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE AUTHOR OR THE PUBLISHER ENDORSES THE INFORMATION THE

ORGANIZATION OR WEBSITE MAY PROVIDE OR RECOMMENDATIONS IT MAY MAKE. FURTHER, READ￾ERS SHOULD BE AWARE THAT INTERNET WEBSITES LISTED IN THIS WORK MAY HAVE CHANGED OR

DISAPPEARED BETWEEN WHEN THIS WORK WAS WRITTEN AND WHEN IT IS READ.

For general information on our other products and services, please contact our Customer Care

Department within the U.S. at 800-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002.

For technical support, please visit www.wiley.com/techsupport.

Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may

not be available in electronic books.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2006934815

ISBN-13: 978-0-471-75421-3

ISBN-10: 0-471-75421-8

Manufactured in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1B/SZ/RR/QW/IN

01_754218 ffir.qxp 11/9/06 6:35 PM Page iv

About the Author

Andy Rathbone started geeking around with computers in 1985 when he

bought a 26-pound portable CP/M Kaypro 2X. Like other nerds of the day,

he soon began plying with null-modem adapters, dialing computer bulletin

boards, and working part-time at Radio Shack.

He wrote articles for various techie publications before moving to computer

books in 1992. He’s written the Windows For Dummies series, Upgrading and

Fixing PCs For Dummies, TiVo For Dummies, PCs: The Missing Manual, and

many other computer books.

Today, he has more than 15 million copies of his books in print, and they’ve

been translated into more than 30 languages. You can reach Andy at his Web

site, www.andyrathbone.com.

01_754218 ffir.qxp 11/9/06 6:35 PM Page v

01_754218 ffir.qxp 11/9/06 6:35 PM Page vi

Author’s Acknowledgments

Special thanks to Dan Gookin, Matt Wagner, Tina Rathbone, Steve Hayes,

Kelly Ewing, Colleen Totz, Dave Diamond, Joyce Nielsen, Kristie Rees,

Jodi Jensen, and Amanda Foxworth. Thanks also to all the folks I never

meet in editorial, sales, marketing, proofreading, layout, graphics, and

manufacturing who work hard to bring you this book.

01_754218 ffir.qxp 11/9/06 6:35 PM Page vii

Publisher’s Acknowledgments

We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our online registration form

located at www.dummies.com/register/.

Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:

Acquisitions, Editorial, and

Media Development

Project Editor: Kelly Ewing

Senior Acquisitions Editor: Steve Hayes

Technical Editor: Joyce Nielsen

Editorial Manager: Jodi Jensen

Media Development Manager: Laura VanWinkle

Editorial Assistant: Amanda Foxworth

Sr. Editorial Assistant: Cherie Case

Cartoons: Rich Tennant

(www.the5thwave.com)

Composition Services

Project Coordinator: Kristie Rees

Layout and Graphics: Carl Byers, Denny Hager,

Barry Offringa, Heather Ryan, Rashell Smith

Proofreaders: Melanie Hoffman,

Jessica Kramer, Dwight Ramsey, Techbooks

Indexer: Techbooks

Publishing and Editorial for Technology Dummies

Richard Swadley, Vice President and Executive Group Publisher

Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher

Mary Bednarek, Executive Acquisitions Director

Mary C. Corder, Editorial Director

Publishing for Consumer Dummies

Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher

Joyce Pepple, Acquisitions Director

Composition Services

Gerry Fahey, Vice President of Production Services

Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services

01_754218 ffir.qxp 11/9/06 6:35 PM Page viii

Contents at a Glance

Introduction .................................................................1

Part I: Windows Vista Stuff Everybody

Thinks You Already Know..............................................7

Chapter 1: What Is Windows Vista? .................................................................................9

Chapter 2: The Desktop, Start Menu, and Other Windows Vista Mysteries.............21

Chapter 3: Basic Windows Mechanics...........................................................................47

Chapter 4: Flipping Through Files, Folders, Floppies, and CDs..................................69

Part II: Working with Programs and Files.....................95

Chapter 5: Playing with Programs and Documents .....................................................97

Chapter 6: Briefly Lost, but Quickly Found.................................................................119

Chapter 7: Printing Your Work......................................................................................133

Part III: Getting Things Done on the Internet ..............145

Chapter 8: Cruising the Web .........................................................................................147

Chapter 9: Sending and Receiving E-mail ....................................................................171

Chapter 10: Safe Computing..........................................................................................189

Part IV: Customizing and Upgrading Windows Vista....207

Chapter 11: Customizing Windows Vista with the Control Panel ............................209

Chapter 12: Keeping Windows from Breaking ............................................................235

Chapter 13: Sharing One Computer with Several People..........................................249

Chapter 14: Connecting Two or More Computers with a Network..........................259

Part V: Music, Movies, Memories (and Photos, Too)....277

Chapter 15: Playing and Copying Music in Media Player..........................................279

Chapter 16: Fiddling with Photos and Movies............................................................303

Part VI: Help! ..........................................................331

Chapter 17: The Case of the Broken Window .............................................................333

Chapter 18: Strange Messages: What You Did Does Not Compute ..........................345

Chapter 19: Moving from an Old Computer to a New One........................................353

Chapter 20: Help on the Windows Vista Help System ...............................................365

02_754218 ftoc.qxp 11/9/06 6:36 PM Page ix

Part VII: The Part of Tens..........................................371

Chapter 21: Ten or So Things You’ll Hate about

Windows Vista (and How to Fix Them).....................................................................373

Chapter 22: Ten or So Tips for Laptop Owners ..........................................................381

Appendix: Upgrading to Windows Vista......................387

Index .......................................................................391

02_754218 ftoc.qxp 11/9/06 6:36 PM Page x

Table of Contents

Introduction..................................................................1

About This Book...............................................................................................1

How to Use This Book .....................................................................................2

And What about You? ......................................................................................3

How This Book Is Organized...........................................................................3

Part I: Windows Vista Stuff Everybody

Thinks You Already Know..................................................................4

Part II: Working with Programs and Files ............................................4

Part III: Getting Things Done on the Internet......................................4

Part IV: Customizing and Upgrading Windows Vista .........................4

Part V: Music, Movies, Memories (and Photos, Too) ........................5

Part VI: Help! ...........................................................................................5

Part VII: The Part of Tens ......................................................................5

Icons Used in This Book..................................................................................6

Where to Go from Here....................................................................................6

Part I: Windows Vista Stuff Everybody

Thinks You Already Know ..............................................7

Chapter 1: What Is Windows Vista? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

What Is Windows Vista, and Why Are You Using It?....................................9

Should I Bother Switching to Windows Vista?............................................11

Improved security ................................................................................11

New Internet Explorer version............................................................12

New Media Player and Media Center.................................................14

DVD burning..........................................................................................14

Calendar.................................................................................................14

Easier searching for files .....................................................................14

Vista looks prettier...............................................................................15

Can My PC Still Run Vista? ............................................................................16

Can I Make Windows Vista Look and Feel Like Windows XP?..................17

The Five Flavors of Vista ...............................................................................18

02_754218 ftoc.qxp 11/9/06 6:36 PM Page xi

Chapter 2: The Desktop, Start Menu, and

Other Windows Vista Mysteries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21

Being Welcomed to the World of Windows Vista.......................................22

Fiddling around with user accounts ..................................................23

Keeping your account private with a password...............................25

Working on the Desktop................................................................................27

Cleaning up a messy desktop .............................................................29

Jazzing up the desktop’s background................................................29

Dumpster diving in the Recycle Bin...................................................31

The Start Button’s Reason to Live ...............................................................32

The Start menu’s prime real estate....................................................34

Starting a program from the Start menu ...........................................35

Customizing the Start menu................................................................36

Bellying Up to the Taskbar............................................................................38

Shrinking windows to the taskbar and retrieving them ..................39

Clicking the taskbar’s sensitive areas................................................40

Customizing the taskbar......................................................................41

The taskbar’s crazy toolbars ..............................................................42

The Sidebar.....................................................................................................44

Logging Off from Windows............................................................................45

Chapter 3: Basic Windows Mechanics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47

Dissecting a Typical Window........................................................................48

Tugging on a window’s title bar..........................................................49

Typing in a Window’s Address Bar ....................................................51

Finding Vista’s hidden menu bar........................................................52

Choosing the Right Button for the Job........................................................53

Quick shortcuts with the Windows Vista Navigation Pane.............54

Working with the Details pane............................................................56

Moving inside a window with its scroll bar ......................................57

Boring borders......................................................................................58

Filling Out Bothersome Dialog Boxes..........................................................58

Poking the correct command button.................................................59

Choosing between option buttons.....................................................60

Typing into text boxes .........................................................................60

Choosing options from list boxes ......................................................61

Drop-down list boxes ...........................................................................62

Check boxes ..........................................................................................63

Sliding controls.....................................................................................64

Maneuvering Windows Around the Desktop..............................................64

Moving a window to the top of the pile.............................................65

Moving a window from here to there.................................................65

Making a window fill the whole screen..............................................65

Closing a window..................................................................................66

Making a window bigger or smaller ...................................................66

Placing two windows next to each other ..........................................67

Making windows open to the same darn size...................................67

xii Windows Vista For Dummies

02_754218 ftoc.qxp 11/9/06 6:36 PM Page xii